the number is zero as far as I recall. One guy surfaced a couple years ago on this forum but as I recall never came back with definitive post mortim on his engine.

there have been a couple failure instances over on the IH8MUD forum for LX470s but no engine damage, thus causing an intense debate on whether these engines are truly interference.

personally, i'd wait for 90k and not worry about it, which is exactly what i'm doing with my 05.

 

Interesting... Do you have a link(s)?

OP, FWIW, I changed mine out at 102k and 9 years old, looked not new, but nonetheless in great shape. I guess I got the deal of the century bc Lexus of Knoxville only charged me 960 (plus tax).

 

Before anyone throws a fit and thinks I'm telling them not to change the timing belt at the recommended interval, CALM DOWN. That's not what I'm saying. With that said, I have known several people that have had vehicles with timing belts. One of my friends has a 2000 Honda Civic with 360k miles and has never replaced the timing belt or water pump. Another friend has a Camry with over 200k miles and never replaced the timing belt. I have several friends with Ford Rangers with the 2.3L and well over 200 and 300k miles without ever doing the timing belt and I've never known anyone to have one break. I'M NOT SAYING IT CAN'T HAPPEN but climate, use, if the vehicle is garaged etc all play a role in the lifespan. If the timing belt isn't done at 90k I personally don't believe it is that big of a deal. Just my $0.02.

 

Where are you located?

 

The timing belts are not known to break but they have and when they do it is catastrophic to the engine. I have only read about them breaking to those who ignore it and it's usually past 200k miles. Not an issue if you replace it at least once.

 

I replaced the original TB & WP (and internals) on my '01 at about 180K miles. Northern vehicle, not garaged kept, with 5K mile dino oil changes.

 

Brave man!

 

Where in Florida do you live?

 

Brave man indeed. Mine is garaged at both home and office in GA with synthetic 5K changes so I should be able to wait even longer. Haha! j/k

Now that you are at about 270K are you going to replace it again or wait longer?

 

I won't change it for another 100K miles (when 360K is on the clock). I didn't get lucky; I'm not brave. The suggested 90K TB change interval is super conservative, and is reflective of Lexus engineering philosophy. (Don't conclude that I'm cheap or cutting corners. I own and have owned several LS's dating back to 1990, and with plenty of free time and tools, I DIY change the TB & WP.) To each his own on this.

There are many, many others who didn't / don't change TB at 90K. However, if you are getting symptoms of a leaking water pump, then I wouldn't hesitate to change it. If you drive hard, fast accelerations from stop, often WOT, that's different too. The fact remains, everyone who changes at 90K discovers a barely worn belt.

 

Doesn't a lot of idling in city traffic necessitate the need for TB change at the recommended intervals?

 

My belt looked ok at 110k when I changed it. Upon further inspection it had 3 bad teeth (you could see the underlying cords)and was actually considerably thinner than the new belt. The aluminium belt covers were covered in a thin layer of very fine "belt dust". Also my idler pulley was noisy, no play or seal rupture but it wouldn't have trusted it for much longer. My car was/is a lifetime AZ car so maybe the extra heat got to it.

 

Heat is always a killer for batteries, paint, interiors, and rubber/tires

 

I have a 05 ES with 95K and just did mine. The belt didn't look to bad but the water pump had pink crystals where it was starting to leak. Love having that reliable car feeling.....

 

my 430 is going in this coming Monday for its first ever WP/TB service. 228,XXX Km's on the clock. Located in Alberta so exposed to decent heat and cold.